Versatile
Versatile is a Canadian brand of agricultural equipment that has produced augers, swathers, Combine harvesters and most notably tractors. Founded by Peter Pakosh and brother-in-law Roy Robinson in 1946, working in a basement. Tye company is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Peter as a tool designer for Massey-Harris and had been turned down when he tried to join the product design department."Ultimate Tractor Power, Vol. 2", Peter D. Simpson, 2002 They sold out to Cornat Industries in 1977, who then sold out to Ford New Holland in 1987. Ford New Holland had been partially purchased by by Fiat. Fiat increased its stake in Ford, and the name changed to New Holland. Versatile was sold to Buhler Industries in 2000 due to regulatory concerns when Case IH merged with New Holland to form CNH Global. The tractors were branded as Buhler Versatile. In 2007, the Russian combine manufacturer RostSelMash purchased 80% of company. In 2009, they dropped the Buhler name and returned to just Versatile. History Founded as the The Hydraulic Engineering Company in 1948 after Founder Peter Pakosh was disgruntled with Massey-Harris and first produced grain augers. Sprayers were next, followed by a new harrow drawbar. In 1964 a new factory was built in Fort Garry, Winnipeg, Canada; producing 5000 swathers in 1964 alone. The company was incorporated in 1963 as Versatile Manufacturing Ltd. In 1966 they entered the 4wd tractor market with the Versatile D-100, a tractor fitted with a Ford 6-cylinder diesel engine. The Model Versatile G-100 had a 318 V8 Chrysler Industrial engine. Both had 3-F 1R gear boxes within a 4-range transfer case. There was no cab, thus selling for less than $10,000. Only 100 D100's and 25 G100's were built due late introduction in the model year. Next year (1967), the Versatile D-118, Versatile 125 and Versatile 145 were introduced. The same year a Self-Propelled combine was introduced, called the Versatile SP420, along with the Pull type Model 420. A new line for 1968 was a self-propelled swather, the Versatile SP400, with hydrostatic drive. The swather was followed by the Versatile 5000 hydrostatic combine in 1970. *During the 1970's the next generation was introduced. As the Versatile 700, Versatile 800, Versatile 850 and Versatile 900 series. the 700 being of , 800 was and the 850 was from a Cummins engine. The 900 was a massive from a Cummins diesel. *The model Hydro-Mechanical Versatile 300 a Row crop tractor with Live power take off was next. *In the 1970s, it was an independent operation, that had 70% of the 4WD tractor market. *The series 2 followed with extra models Versatile 750, Versatile 825, and Versatile 950 added to the line up and the others upgraded. An innovative Tractor of a Push-pull design was introduced in 1977 called the Versatile 150 Bi-Directional, followed by the 160. Replaced by the Versatile 256 Bi-Directional of in 1984 . A more powerful Versatile 276 Bi-Directional followed in 1985. Versatile then built a tractor to be the biggest in the world. This monster had 8 wheels, a 19-litre engine from Cummins and weighed in at 26 tons. It was Nick-named as "Big Roy" after Roy Robinson but was designated as the Versatile 1080. It never went into production,. The Constant power series was introduced in 1977, of 4 models. The Versatile 835, Versatile 855, Versatile 875, and Versatile 935, ranging from to . The Company was sold to Cornat Industries of Vancouver in 1977 after a failed bid by Hesston. The world market was open up in 1979 by a deal with Fiat to supply tractor to the European market. Sold as the Fiat 44-23 ( ), Fiat 44-28 ( ), Fiat 44-33 ( ), and the Fiat 44-35 ( ), painted in the sandy orange color of Fiat. The company was taken over by Ford Tractors in 1987, who also bought Sperry New Holland, and renamed the tractor division Ford New Holland. Versatile Noble Noble was a Canadian company that manufactured tillage equipment. It was purchased by Versatile, another Canadian company, in 1982 to extend Versatile's products. They were marketed for a time as Versatile Noble. The tillage division was later spun off as New Noble, possibly when Ford Tractors purchased Versatile. File:Versatile Noble implement brochure pg2.jpg File:Versatile Noble implement brochure.jpg UK Market & Preservation They were best Known in the UK for the High-horesepower tractors, which were imported mainly under the Fiat brand. There are a few examples under preservation in the UK or being worked by smaller farms as a cheap big tractor to cover a lot of ground. The UK conditions didn't suit them as the design suited USA/Canadian conditions of fast shallow tillage work not deep heavy ploughing. Model range Tractors Versatile Ford Versatile Models Fiat Models Other Models See also *Ford *New Holland (Versatile) *Ford New Holland *Fiat *Buhler Industries *Buhler Versatile *Hesston *John Deere References * wikipedia for base article * Versatile "A farm boy's dream" by Jarrod Pakosh, ISBN 1-55046-416-7 * The World Encyclopaedia of Tractors & Farm Machinery by John Carol * Classic Tractors of the World by Nick Baldwin External links * Buhler official web site - Versatile Tractor Brand * Versatile web site Category:Versatile Category:Combine harvesters Category:Companies of Canada Category:Buhler Category:Fiat Tractor Category:Ford Tractors Category:Inventors Category:Merged companies Category:Tractor manufacturers of Canada Category:Articulated tractors Category:Companies founded in 1946 Category:Combine harvester manufacturers of Canada